“We are honored that Rob and Craig have been recognized by EBA as advisers who are leading the way in benefits consulting,” said John Hahn, CEO of EPIC. “Our clients will need to continue navigating largely uncharted waters as we enter into a new era of employee benefits and healthcare under a new President. Rob, Craig and all of our consultants across the country will continue providing the very highest level of service and expertise to our clients as benefits and healthcare continue to change and evolve.”

Employee Benefit Adviser’s 30 Top Benefit Advising Innovators includes men and women making significant contributions to the field of benefits consulting and advising and who are leading the way for the industry. Whether it be through focusing on transparency in insurance and healthcare, utilizing technology to improve care, education or bending the cost curve, they are people to watch in the years ahead.

A 25-year industry veteran, Massa created EPIC’s investment advisory firm that has grown to $3 billion in AUM. Massa’s goal is to let employers establish best practices for their plans, with a growing emphasis on financial wellness and fiduciary responsibility.

Within the past year at EPIC, Schmidt has built the company’s employee benefits specialty wellness consulting practice, developing content for client-facing webinars, educated staff on wellness productivity planning and authored new material in EPIC’s wellness playbook tool for internal account teams.

Both Massa and Schmidt were recognized by EBA earlier this year as 2016 Employee Benefit Advisors of the year, Massa in Retirement and Schmidt in Wellness.

About Rob Massa, Director of Retirement, Ascende – an EPIC Company:
Rob Massa joined Ascende as the retirement practice leader in 2010, and in 2011, led the introduction of Ascende Wealth Advisers, Inc. He oversees a team of retirement professionals who work with clients and investment committees to help them develop meaningful retirement plan strategies, manage compliance requirements and fiduciary duties, educate employees and make informed decisions in plan operations. Prior to joining Ascende, he spent 10 years at MBM Advisors, Inc. as a vice president, principal and shareholder of the company.

About Craig Schmidt, Senior Wellness Consultant, EPIC:
As a Wellness Consultant, Craig works with a team of other like-minded wellness professionals to create a healthier working environment for the members and clients EPIC serves. He has a strong background in Health Education, Health Promotion and in particularly a passion for work-site impacts health and wellness plays at any company. Craig strives to not only help our client members that have partnered with EPIC but he also works to be an example in his own daily life, with his co-workers and regular interactions with people.

Prior to joining the EPIC team, Craig worked in many roles within the worksite wellness field to help strengthen him for the position he current holds. He has been a health coach working with individuals 1-on-1, a Program Coordinator for a wellness service provider, and a Health Educator within a carrier disease management platform. Most recently, Craig took on an integral role in an innovative approach to combine workplace initiatives in wellness with carrier services to improve health care consumerism as a Wellness Liaison with WellPoint Inc. Craig was positioned on-site at Google Inc. to work directly with their Human Resources department and with their employees having daily in person interactions whenever needed. Craig’s endeavor in his own health and wellness help strengthen his passion to be a leader in the field of wellness and health management and become a valued asset at EPIC as we continue to grow our presence as a worksite wellness innovator.

Craig earned his Bachelors of Science in Health Education and Promotion with an emphasis on Worksite Studies at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He then continued his studies at the University of Colorado, Denver Anschutz Medical Campus where he completed his Certificate of Public Health Sciences.

About EPIC:

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a “Best Place to Work” in multiple regions and as a “Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry” nationally.

EPIC now has more than 850 team members operating from offices across the U.S., providing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 13,000 clients.

With more than $200 million in revenues, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by the Carlyle Group, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country.

EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants is a unique and innovative retail property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence. EPIC now has more than 1,400 team members operating from 50 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 20,000 clients.

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